Talib Kweli - She's My Hero lyrics

We do it for the babies They say falling in love the definition of going crazy The knowledge that makes us just cherish innocence makes it impossible He heading for the graves, drivin’ right past the hospital There be gla** in the hallway Bloodstains flossin’ (Yeah) I like that one, c’mon They say karma is a “b**h” And when you take a life, you pay the price But if your way of life ain’t been threatened And you safe at night How you out here judgin’ thinkin’ you givin’ people great advice When those who should protect you, disrespect you, you can’t take it light Brace your medal’s, resemble my baby girl 14 years old taking a place in this crazy world Her and her brothers lived in fear of their father’s rage He beat their mother so awful, she prayed for the day she could be far away on Father’s Day An awkward occasion, would daddy fall from grace Embrace the alcohol, call mommy a who*e, put her back in her place With black eyes, broken ribs, slashin’ her weight No speculation, just the facts of the case Stated: Allegedly wavin’ a gun in her face After all that he came back, and was great, right? Tired of hearin’ mommy scream “put the gun away” She knew that when she got the courage she would run away But what about her brothers, she couldn’t leave her mother They told the cops, but all that did was make them treat them rougher So what was she to do? She did what she was told to do Exposure to violence increased the [?] violence that you open to Why bother when the system support her father Gradually her thoughts got darker Do you k** yourself or k** the monster that’s making you suicidal? Decision’s too heavy for the mind of a child There be gla** in the hallway Bloodstains flossin’ (Yeah) I like that one, let’s go They say karma is a b**h And when you take a life You pay the price We shootin’ in these moments To confuse your violence with a way of life The funnel us from schools to the prisons, it’s like they made a pipe The conclusion that we reach is that the solution is that we take the fight to you Preach your medals, took matters in your own hands 14 years old with more courage than a grown man Grabbed the gun that he threatened to whip Crept in the bedroom, put the bullet in his brain while he slept It left with post-traumatic stress disorder She the phoenix out the flames, metamorphosis Survivin’ in the meadow’s house was kinda like a war He threatened to k** her mother and her brothers many times before The justice system is a profit They shuffle us to prison, but sh** it’s just as toxic for women to get a judge to listen At first the family freaked out, but deep down they felt relief “Wipe the tears from your cheek, Mama you free now” Family wearin’ purple in the court room Prosecution lookin’ at the feds like make your move Chance of beatin’ this murder for life, zero Her Mama, doin’ interviews like, “she’s my hero” She shed no tears for her husband Years to succumbin’ to her fears, have made her numb From video games to war as we solve our problems with violence It’s how we speak They either want your d**h or your silence